It snowed here in North Carolina yesterday, and, predictably everyone lost their shit. North Carolina, despite getting snow with at least some degree of regularity, if not that much snow, doesn’t deal well with snow at all. I mean, roads get plowed and brine gets sprayed and, generally, the infrastructure works as it should, but nearly everyone who ends up driving seems deeply unhappy. Not just unhappy, though: nervous. And the way many, many drivers express their nervousness is by turning on their hazard lights. This is a terrible idea, and should stop.
I noticed this as I was picking up Autopian co-dummy David from the airport last night. It was dark but clear, and the roads weren’t great. Not terrible, but there were slick patches and it definitely demanded more attention than a normal jaunt down the 40. Visibility wasn’t a problem, which I thought might be a justification for putting on some blinky lights, but that’s not really what people are thinking. They’re thinking this sucks, I don’t feel confident driving in it, so I want people to know. Hence the hazards.
I know some may feel it makes their car more visible in poor conditions. In really awful visibility conditions, a rear fog lamp is a much better solution, but those are not common in the US. Maybe the hazards could help a bit there, but even then, it’s illegal to do so in plenty of states!
I think mostly people just seem to use them when they don’t feel comfortable driving in some crappy situation.
And that’s not necessarily a bad instinct, really! The problem is that when an uncomfortable driver puts on their hazard lights, they’re actually doing more than they realize. They’re also eliminating their ability to indicate when they intend to turn, which is a pretty big deal. Nervous people who decided to turn their hazards on still need to change lanes and exit freeways and make turns, and those hazards are eliminating their ability to do just that.
Driving with your hazards on also diminishes the impact of cars that really need to identify themselves as a true hazard: cars that are stuck or broken down or otherwise immobile.
While it’s definitely more fun to blame those drivers that just use their hazard lights in any kind of bad weather or when they feel Mercury is in retrograde or they had some bad clams or whatever, the truth is that the real issue is with the hazard lights themselves.
Back in the day when they were first mandated, in 1966, blinking all four turn indicators was by far the easiest way to get the desired effect. The turn signals were the only lights already configured to flash, after all. But it’s become clear that they’re not the best choice, because, again, they eliminate an extremely important feature of taillights: turn signals. And for that I will not stand.
We live in an automotive era where it would not be hard to, while still using only existing hardware, find a new way to make hazard lights work. On some cars, I suspect changes could be made with over-the-air updates! Regardless of how it’s done, there are viable options that I firmly think would work better as a hazard indicator than just blinking all the turn signals.
This was an idea David had: blink the indicators as normal, but when the turn signal stalk is moved to actually indicate a turn, switch hazard functionality to the CHMSL (center high-mount stop light). Here’s a mockup of how that may look:
That does preserve the function of the turn signals, but I think it’s a bit too complex. I have another idea: what if we make those reverse lights earn their keep a little bit more?
Reverse lights are nice and bright, they never flash when in actual reversing use, and I think they would definitely get attention. And, of course, all normal functions like turn indicating and braking and normal taillights or whatever are completely intact.
Also, I don’t think anyone will assume the driver is rhythmically shifting into and out of reverse gear, because people aren’t that stupid. Maybe in parking lots some people may get pissed because they see a flash that suggests someone is backing out of a spot, like how GM uses them when a car is locked/unlocked. And no one really likes that. But I think this context and behavior will be different enough (GM tends to keep them on longer, for example) to avoid that issue.
Now, I don’t have a solution for what to do up front; I think for the front, if there is a separate side/parking light/DRL, then that is definitely what should blink; if not, I guess we can grudgingly stay with the indicators. But for new cars, that have to have DRLs already, I think we can demand that! Why not?
So, here’s my proposal: until we change how hazard lights work – which we should, and I think that means blinking the reverse lamps in rear, the DRLs up front – then people shouldn’t use their hazards when they’re just unsure of how they’re driving or are uncomfortable with the conditions. I get that it feels safer and there is some benefit to letting the world know, but it does more harm than good.
I’ll go around to all of my usual taillight bar and bathhouse hangouts and spread the word of flashing-reverse hazard lights, and see how it plays out. But I’ll need everyone’s help if we’re to make this change a reality! Or, if you have a better idea, tell me in the comments! I’ll listen! With my eyes! By reading!
problem with the reversing lights illuminated by the old story of Van der Merwe…He bought a brand new Porsche, left the garage and five minutes later the garage got a call saying the car had broken down.
The gear box was wrecked.
He got a loaner and five minutes later a call came in for the same problem
They said: “Tell us Van how did it happen?”
And he said: “I was testing it and it was really good and fast. Then I looked at the gear stick and saw R for racing….”
My G30 540i didn’t come with a switch for the rear fogs which were already there so I ordered a EU one and installed/coded it. Ever since I had them working (I also added a blinking feature to the brake/tail light in the rear diffuser) I’ve had fewer people tailgating and having to panic brake behind me because they weren’t paying attention, or whatever.
We don’t see the flashers too much here in Michigan because most drivers have experienced enough crap weather. But yesterday we got an unexpected dusting (.5-1in) which made some slick slush but nothing crazy. I was on the highway (which was just wet at this point) and there was a Wrangler with their flashers on with Georgia plates. Understandably they may have been trying to be careful as they are unfamiliar with these driving conditions but the strange part was they were mostly doing the same speed as the rest of traffic flow. So my question to them would be, you are already basically doing the same speed as everyone else, what are your flashers accomplishing?
Perhaps take some inspiration from petite-member motorcyclists. Don’t even worry about lights, just have a cat/muffler bypass switch. You won’t have to bother being seen, the entire surrounding community will know you are there and as a bonus, you’ll feel like such a cool big boy rebel doing it.